A sex 'strike' for teenagers

[michel]

(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4185498.stm-)BBC show sets teen sex challenge

The BBC said the teenagers were "a complete cross-section" of Harrow

A BBC show has challenged 12 teenagers to stay celibate for five months.

In No Sex Please, We're Teenagers, two Christian youth workers tried to get participants to swap "casual sex for old-fashioned courting rituals".

They said the young people would be happier if they were in long-term, serious relationships.

"This is not a reality show in the Big Brother sense," a BBC spokeswoman said. "It is a three-part observational documentary series."

The teenagers, aged between 15 and 17 and from Harrow, north-west London, attended weekly "Romance Academy" sessions with the youth workers.

'Life-changing'

They also spent a weekend sharing a house with two rules - girls and boys were not allowed in each other's bedrooms and no alcohol.

The youngest participant was Wesley, 15, who lost his virginity at the age of 12. The parents of the 12 teenagers agreed to the project.

The BBC spokeswoman said the youngsters were not chosen for their promiscuity.

"Some of them haven't had sex at all - it's a complete cross-section," she said. "They're all from Harrow but they all go to different schools and they're all from different cultures and different religions." The youths described the Romance Academy as "life-changing", she said. No Sex Please, We're Teenagers is on BBC Two from 6 September.

Wow refraining from sex at the age of 15!! How will they manage!
One of the girls appeared on Breakfast programme, who will be taking part - admitted that she lost her virginity (I think) at the age of 13............

 

[Fluffy]

lol five whole months without sex.... scandalous stuff!

Actually thinking about it, most 15 year olds I know have sex on a regular basis so maybe I am just being over skeptical?

 

[michel]

lol five whole months without sex.... scandalous stuff!

Actually thinking about it, most 15 year olds I know have sex on a regular basis so maybe I am just being over skeptical?

I don't think I knew what sex was at 15.............

 

[Jaymes]

Really, michel? Dang... we had sex ed from 12 and for a few years after...

On topic, this could be a good and bad thing. I don't really like the "ABSTINENCE IS THE ONLY WAY TO NOT GET STDS/PREGNANT!!!" attitude prevalent in much sex ed, but it may be different over in the UK?

 

[michel]

Really, michel? Dang... we had sex ed from 12 and for a few years after...

On topic, this could be a good and bad thing. I don't really like the "ABSTINENCE IS THE ONLY WAY TO NOT GET STDS/PREGNANT!!!" attitude prevalent in much sex ed, but it may be different over in the UK?

In the sixties, there was no such thing as sex education; the only education was a quick fumble behind the bycicle sheds - somehow I even managed to miss out on that!

 

[Unedited]

I don't think I knew what sex was at 15.............

I remember getting teased for still being a virgin at 14.

 

[michel]

I remember getting teased for still being a virgin at 14.

Do you think that this sort of peer pressure, and attitude is actually making young teenagers feel that they have to have sex, so as not to be teased and bullied ?:shout

 

[Unedited]

Do you think that this sort of peer pressure, and attitude is actually making young teenagers feel that they have to have sex, so as not to be teased and bullied ?:shout

Yeah, I think it is actually. Of course I just started lying about it.

 

[Fluffy]

Do you think that this sort of peer pressure, and attitude is actually making young teenagers feel that they have to have sex, so as not to be teased and bullied ?

I'm a virgin and proud of that fact. What I am not proud of is the way I tend to feel differently about people who have had sex at a young age... perhaps it works both ways?

 

[Jaymes]

It may be my area, but I never recall any pressure to have sex... there were people doing it of course, but I also remember people (who still did it) giving kudos to those that hadn't yet, and saying they wished they hadn't. I was teased for being a virgin by my friends, but it was jokingly.

 

[Unedited]

I'm a virgin and proud of that fact. What I am not proud of is the way I tend to feel differently about people who have had sex at a young age... perhaps it works both ways?

That second sentence really confuses me. Are you saying you 'look down' at people who've had sex at a young age?

Oh, and virgins rock! :jam:

 

[Fluffy]

That second sentence really confuses me. Are you saying you 'look down' at people who've had sex at a young age?

Not intentionally. And not always either. But it is something I have noticed recently. Actually thinking about it, most of these people I have fancied so perhaps it is merely a jealousy thing .

Oh, and virgins rock! :jam:

 

[Flappycat]

Funny. Personally, I didn't have any sexual intercourse at all until I met my current mate, and I've always had a pretty cynical attitude toward sex. The thing is, I've generally found it pretty pathetic that many of my peers were so overwhelmed by their own hormones that they couldn't keep a level head in potentially sexual situations, and I have generally felt that those who brag about having more than one partner within a month are very clearly advertising their inability to win over a truly devoted partner. Unrestrained sexuality is not a successful reproductive strategy anymore, thanks to many forms of protection, and I'm confident that its popularity is likely to be quite short-lived.

Oddly, my understanding is that regions in which it is popular to credit religion with all forms of morality and virtue and in which sex is widely considered an evil and horrible thing that should be reserved for the person that you love the most seem to have greatly elevated rates of teen pregnancy. This is very interesting to think about. I think that sex should be taken for what it really is: kinda nasty, like alcohol, but pleasant if one pays proper heed to taste, like alcohol. Then again, I refuse to drink a beer if you can shine a spotlight through it.

 

[Crystal Red]

I don't think there's anything wrong with being a virgin or not, if that's how you want it to be, do what you want, jsut do it for the right reasons. I am not a virgin, I lost mine soon after I was 14, that was a mistake, but the next person I did it with was who I should have lost mine too, I was 15, it was right that time, I loved that person & they loved me, free lurve might be fun (& it is), but there's nothign better with sex with someone you love (what some might call masturbation!) There's too much peer presure, whether verbal or physical, I couldn't care less what other people do behind & closed curtains (or wherever else they might do it), I don't boast about what I've done, I don't ask what others have done, your business is your own.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

In the sixties, there was no such thing as sex education; the only education was a quick fumble behind the bycicle sheds - somehow I even managed to miss out on that!

Your not alone (kinda), I would have missed out if I was around then.

Im almost 19, and I've never even had a girlfriend. Things just keep going wrong. I don't mind though.

 

[ayani]

i look forward to seeing how this program works out, really.

and not only are the kids not to have sex, they're being shown what behaviors and activities can take the place of sex in a relationship between young couples.

yeah, so i guess i'm something of a sexual traditionalist!

 

[Unedited]

Not intentionally. And not always either. But it is something I have noticed recently. Actually thinking about it, most of these people I have fancied so perhaps it is merely a jealousy thing .

Ah, thanks for explaining.